Red Line, Metra hit by heat, derailment

(Crain's) — Heat has hampered the Red Line and a Metra collision with a car that left two people dead will create delays for commuter using both services.

The Chicago Transit Authority said excessive heat has created a problem in the Red Line rail and repairs will force trains to operate on single track between the Cermak-Chinatown and the Sox-35th stops. The repairs are expected to be complete by Thursday evening.

The CTA will offer a bus shuttle between its Roosevelt and 47th Street stations that will stop at each Red Line station.

Metra officials said a commuter train heading into Chicago has derailed in suburban Oak Forest killing two people. The incident, which happened around 4 p.m., involved a car, a Metra spokeswoman said. She said there were injuries to train passengers, but they don't appear life threatening. It wasn't immediately clear whether those killed were in the car involved.

The Cook County Medical Examiner's office wouldn't provide any additional information about the fatalities.

The train was carrying 89 passengers who have been evacuated to cooling buses. The temperature in the suburb about 25 miles southwest of Chicago was more than 100 degrees on Thursday.

The train left Joliet at 3:25 p.m. and was due into downtown Chicago at 4:33 p.m. Reile says the front car of the train derailed slightly and traffic was stopped in both directions.